Royal London on a roll as sales soar

With interest rates heading to zero and banks looking shaky, people are seeking a safe home for long-term savings.

Some are flocking to Royal London, the UK's largest mutual life and pensions company, whose sales in the 12 months to the end of December, rose 17 per cent to £2.23billion.

Scottish Life, which it bought in 2001, is capturing a good portion of the personal pension market - sales are up 6 per cent to £1.49billion.

The group claims this success is partly due to its refusal to pay commissions to financial advisers for recommending its products. They must take a fee from their customers instead.

"Many providers still offer high, old-style commissions in this market which are not sustainable in the long term," says Royal London.

The company expects a rough year. "We do not see any respite from the difficult conditions we experienced through most of 2008, and it would be no great surprise if the environment gets even tougher," it said today.